*Toni Braxton was advised to conceal her 2008 diagnosis of autoimmune disorder lupus.
“I was told to hide that I had lupus. Like, ’Don’t tell anyone,’ ” the singer, 56, shared during an appearance on the April 16 episode of SHE MD podcast, PEOPLE reports.
Braxton explained that her management team advised her to hide her diagnosis because “people get scared around sick celebrities. Nobody gets insured, and I couldn’t get insured.”
Rheumatologist Dr. Daniel Jeffrey Wallace diagnosed Braxton with lupus and appeared on the podcast with the superstar.
“I was president of the Lupus Foundation of America and our problem was we had all these celebrities with lupus but none of them would come out,” said Wallace.
“You would not get work,” Braxton added. “I didn’t get work at first. No one wanted to put me on the stage. ‘Well, suppose she collapses on stage? And insurance? How are we going to do that?’ “
According to the Mayo Clinic: Lupus is a disease that occurs when your body’s immune system attacks your own tissues and organs (autoimmune disease). Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems — including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.
Braxton underscores that Black and Asian women are four times more prone to developing lupus.
“It’s important to get those screenings — simple things,” she told PEOPLE in a 2023 interview. “The goal here is long life and old age.”
“I know we’re all scared sometimes to go to the doctor. Especially for me having lupus, I was scared, I didn’t want to know. But I find that knowing is empowering and it gets my doctors on top of my lupus and my kidney health. And that’s the most important thing,” the music star added.
READ MORE: Fans Pray for Toni Braxton as She Suffers From Lupus Symptoms [VIDEO]
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